Ayrlego Posted March 15, 2016 (edited) Greetings all! My rather simple attempt at the Feb MRCA result. It's my first attempt at both mirco building and forced perspective. Not entirely sure if I like the result, it's very different to what I'm used to! The micro ships were inspired by Captain's Braunsfeld's mirco builds. Graham Taylor, Master of the Saucy Gibbon, had never been so happy to see a foreign naval vessel. As organised by their new partner, Captain Dirk Allcock, the Gibbon had joined a state sponsored trade convoy. This was a new experience for the three brothers on the Gibbon, they were much more used to small clandestine runs carrying illicit sugar between Arlinsport and LeBellan. The convey, spread out widely across the horizon had been skirting the Garvey coast when suddenly a pirate had emerged from a cove. Much to their terror, the pirate had made a direct line for the closest merchant vessel, the Saucy Gibbon. Despite her high speed and handling, the much larger pirate vessel had rapidly gained on the Gibbon. Graham was getting increasing fearful, when, seemly from nowhere, the Eslandian escort vessel Dark Lightning closed in on the pirate. Cannon fire echoed across the water as the two vessels exchanged broadsides. Out gunned, the pirate vessel quickly broke away and fled to the east. Graham muttered a blessing to the Dark Lightning, and the greenbacks who crewed her, for now, the Gibbon was safe to continue. *** EDIT: Resubmitted image incorporating some of your great suggestions below!! Edited March 17, 2016 by Ayrlego Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gedren_y Posted March 16, 2016 Glad to see some Corrie appreciation for the Eslandolian contingent of the Quick Wing trade run, even if they can't quite get the ship's name right. I guess my representation of the Dark Lightning will be after the trade run, with a new paint job and some added accents. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ayrlego Posted March 16, 2016 (edited) Um, oops My apologies to our Eslandolian comrades! That's my own poor spelling! My only excuse is that spelling was very erratic in the age of sail??? I'll edit everything to change it. Maybe a friendly mod could edit the title? Edited March 16, 2016 by Ayrlego Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Garmadon Posted March 16, 2016 ...I'll edit everything to change it. Maybe a friendly mod could edit the title? Don't need a Mod for that! Neat little micro ships Ayrlego, the forced perspective is pretty good, and I really like the lean you can get on the sails with that technique! For future forced perspective shots I would advise trying to get the foreground in focus instead though, and when you're editing a blue background in, a non-white backdrop to start with would take away the odd outline on your feather there Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bregir Posted March 16, 2016 Really nice forced perspective! And while I in principle agree with Garmadon (there it was again...) in terms of focus, I think yours is a better solution in this specific case, as the naval action is really the main part of the build here. Maybe giving it a round outline (as if looking through a looking glass) would explain the point of focus. I really like the micro vessels too, and that ice cream piece works wonderfully as smoke! Well done! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TitusV Posted March 16, 2016 Good build! Altough I'd recommend a little bit more of a background and some more 1x1 rounds for the wtaer, these micro-ships are really cool! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Garmadon Posted March 16, 2016 Really nice forced perspective! And while I in principle agree with Garmadon (there it was again...) in terms of focus, I think yours is a better solution in this specific case, as the naval action is really the main part of the build here. Maybe giving it a round outline (as if looking through a looking glass) would explain the point of focus... It was you this time though! The spyglass is a good idea, but micros like this generally tend to look more real if they are slightly out of focus - not to mention the water and the landscape So we can disagree here just to please you Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BrickOn Posted March 16, 2016 Yay more micro ships :-) I really like them... About the focus, as the others have said the final effect just doesn't look quite right to me. Personally I find the out of focus minifigure a little distracting... for me he could be placed just a bit further to the edge of the scene... so maybe just cropping the photo just left of his tricorn (and then maybe adjust the top and bottom to get the ratios you like)... I'm usually guilty of just pointing my phone at stuff and seeing what happens, but since you've gone to the effort of doing the forced perspective I think it pays to fiddle with the composition. That could just be enough to draw the eye more to the focal point of the points, or you could go down Bregir's route of a circular crop, that could work too. Either way its a cool scene and something I want to try myself. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Captain Genaro Posted March 16, 2016 A very nice and well presented scene. A good story, and the ships are nice. The island could use a little work, perhaps some trees and more rocks, but overall it looks really good. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ayrlego Posted March 16, 2016 Thanks everyone for the detailed feedback - it is very much appreciated and as you can see I have resubmitted the image with some of your suggestions. This is exactly why I love this community so much - great feedback that I can improve with! Anyway hope you like the modified image, Cheers! Don't need a Mod for that! Neat little micro ships Ayrlego, the forced perspective is pretty good, and I really like the lean you can get on the sails with that technique! For future forced perspective shots I would advise trying to get the foreground in focus instead though, and when you're editing a blue background in, a non-white backdrop to start with would take away the odd outline on your feather there Thanks for fixing the title! I agree in principle about the focus, it was how I originally indented the shot to go, but then, like Bregir says, I decided that the naval action was the real focus and wanted it in focus. In the new image I used a blue background, which made erasing it so much easier - thanks for that tip!! although in the final cut I ended up cropping the figure out of the shot anyway... Really nice forced perspective! And while I in principle agree with Garmadon (there it was again...) in terms of focus, I think yours is a better solution in this specific case, as the naval action is really the main part of the build here. Maybe giving it a round outline (as if looking through a looking glass) would explain the point of focus. I really like the micro vessels too, and that ice cream piece works wonderfully as smoke! Well done! Thanks, the telescope idea intrigued me, so I've given it a go. It takes the ship and fig out of the fore ground, which I think makes a better, if somewhat more simple picture. I agree with you on the focus as explained above. Good build! Altough I'd recommend a little bit more of a background and some more 1x1 rounds for the wtaer, these micro-ships are really cool! Thanks, I've added the 1x1 rounds as suggested, you are right, it looks much better! Yay more micro ships :-) I really like them... About the focus, as the others have said the final effect just doesn't look quite right to me. Personally I find the out of focus minifigure a little distracting... for me he could be placed just a bit further to the edge of the scene... so maybe just cropping the photo just left of his tricorn (and then maybe adjust the top and bottom to get the ratios you like)... I'm usually guilty of just pointing my phone at stuff and seeing what happens, but since you've gone to the effort of doing the forced perspective I think it pays to fiddle with the composition. That could just be enough to draw the eye more to the focal point of the points, or you could go down Bregir's route of a circular crop, that could work too. Either way its a cool scene and something I want to try myself. I ended up trying the crop, I think it looks less distracting this way, but makes me wonder why I even bothered placing the boat in the picture!!!! A very nice and well presented scene. A good story, and the ships are nice. The island could use a little work, perhaps some trees and more rocks, but overall it looks really good. I agree regarding the island. I tried some 'bamboo' pieces as trees although I ended up taking them off as the looked a bit out of scale. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Garmadon Posted March 17, 2016 Definitely an improvement, the edit looks much cleaner now, and the studs improve the water a great deal! The circle on the pic looks very nice as well, although (though I do really like the skin on the pirate forums!), it's a pity in this case as the picture would look better if the post color was the same white. Not your fault though! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ayrlego Posted March 17, 2016 Definitely an improvement, the edit looks much cleaner now, and the studs improve the water a great deal! The circle on the pic looks very nice as well, although (though I do really like the skin on the pirate forums!), it's a pity in this case as the picture would look better if the post color was the same white. Not your fault though! Hmmm... good point about the background.... I've edited the image again, now I'm much happier it matches the forum skin! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bregir Posted March 17, 2016 (edited) Well, I actually meant keeping the vessel and sailor in the picture, but using the looking glass effect to explain why they are out of focus! But anyways, the new photo works really well too. I take Garmadons point about more realism from a slight blurriness (does away with the brick effect), but if something else in the foreground is in focus, that is also where people will focus their attention :) Anyways! The new pic is looking great! Watching it on the phone, it doesn't match the colour of the background, but after reading the comments. I will go check it out on my computer! Great to see you are using the feedback! I agree, that is the great thing about this community - all the constructive feedback, and the (almost total) absence of harsh, derogative comments. :) Edited March 17, 2016 by Bregir Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Captain Dee Posted March 20, 2016 Those micro vessels are nice, and filling the whole ocean area with the trans parts at such a low viewing angle gives this a very good and unusual perspective for a micro build. The land mass looks nice too, and reworking the pics has improved the presentation from the original. Keep it up. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kolonialbeamter Posted March 21, 2016 I really liked the 'first edition', but, wow, this updated version is even better! Just lovely Next step: Brick sky Keep it up! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
